


Something fluffy (with teeth)

by Mullk6



Series: You ain't never read a fic like this [2]
Category: Merlin (TV), One Piece
Genre: Alive Thatch (One Piece), BAMF Merlin, Because he's Emrys, Crossover, Gen, Hell hath no fury like an enraged Emrys, Immortal Merlin, Marineford Arc, Marshall D. Teach dies, Merlin becomes a Whitebeard, Merlin is grieving, Merlin looks harmless, Nimueh ain't got shit on this, Old Religion, Portgas D. Ace Lives, Shirohige | Whitebeard | Edward Newgate Lives, So he returns the favour, The Marines piss themselves, The Whitebeards help him heal, They have no idea what that means, but he's not, you read that right
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-03-30 20:59:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13959909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mullk6/pseuds/Mullk6
Summary: Merlin has lived for a long time and watched the world change around him as time marched past. He never felt the need to meddle with affairs not his, not since the death of Arthur. He'd had quite enough meddling to last him a lifetime.That changed when he saved a Whitebeard Pirate from Marines.The Whitebeards are only slightly apprehensive of acquiring a new brother after Teach's betrayal, but Merlin has a way of endearing himself to people. He doesn't look like a fighter, so they're all surprised when he decides to fight at Marineford.They have no idea just what kind of power is on their side.





	1. A Warlock and a Pirate walk into a bar

_How long will I have to wait?_

A raven-haired, blue-eyed man thought, arm thrown over his eyes as he lied on a bed he'd rented for the night.

It had been a thousand years already, give or take a century, since the age of Camelot. And Merlin was no closer to finding peace.

At least it didn't hurt as badly anymore. He still missed them, all of them. But the hole they had left in him was slowly closing.

If only he had something to fill that hole.

Little did Merlin know, he was about to gain a large family.

Merlin wasn't sure how he ended up in bars, it wasn't like he could get drunk without controlling his magic not to attack the alcohol. Not that he wanted to become drunk enough for his magic to go out of control.

He was sitting beside a man rivaling Percival in muscles, though not in height. The man was still taller than the Warlock, though. He also didn't look happy.

Swirling the liquid inside his own bottle, Merlin quipped “So, what made your day worse, mate?”

The man snorted, looking at him with an amused air “A man we thought we could trust murdered one of us.”

Merlin winced “Ah. That's...”

The man nodded, his graying moustache quivering “Yeah.”

Merlin grimaced, remembering his own encounters with traitors. It was always horrible.

“Commander Ace went after him and we're all worried...”

Commander Ace? Merlin cast his gaze on the man again, this time spotting the Jolly Roger.  
Whitebeard, huh? Merlin turned back towards the counter, sipping his rum. The Whitebeards were one of the few crews Merlin actually liked on some level. Just as he was contemplating leaving, the people around him started to pass out, including the Whitebeard Pirate next to him. Before he could move a muscle, he saw the Marine Patrol outside.

“Fuck.”

It took some fast thinking and even faster time-freezing, but Merlin managed to stuff the Whitebeard into a closet and knock out the bartender before taking his place. He then had to act natural as the Marines asked where their target was. Apparently, someone had drugged all the drinks after hearing rumors of a Whitebeard being on the island.

“Aw, mate, you just missed 'im. Bloke left five minutes ago.” Merlin lied to their faces, hoping to god the Whitebeard didn't wake up and make noise before the Marines skedaddled “But those three are bandits and that guy killed 'is neighbour last week, was braggin' about it not two minutes ago.”

Dusty woke up with a headache in an uncomfortable position. He could hear muffled talking and only vaguely recognized one. Shifting turned out to be a bad idea since he dislodged a mop, causing it to hit the wall quite loudly.

“What's in there?”

Dusty tensed as footsteps drew closer, before the familiar voice made the owner pause “Rats. Big ones. I finally got them corralled but haven't had time to dispose of them yet. You really don't want to open that door.”

Apparently, the ridiculous lie worked, since the footsteps moved away. After an unknown amount of time passed, the door was opened and the former Spade Pirates First Mate tumbled out of the broom closet. Lying on his back, sprawled out on the bar's filthy floor, he blinked up fuzzily at the black-haired, blue-eyed kid he'd been talking to earlier before blacking out.

“C'mon, mate, it won't take long before they realized I lied, I don't work here, and they've missed you by miles. Where's your boat?”

Dusty couldn't remember if he'd actually answered or not, only that the next time he woke up, they were both on the boat and sailing away towards where the log pose pointed. The Whitebeard was confused, but one thing was clear. The kid had just saved his ass and he'd have to think of a way to repay him.

He wondered if Oyaji would mind another son so soon after Teach's treachery?


	2. Welcome to the Moby Dick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dusty and Merlin arrive at the Moby and Merlin gets his first glimpse at what it's like standing outside the conflict instead of being part of it.

Merlin and Dusty got along fairly well, the older-looking man reminding the Warlock of Gwaine with the way he joked about the bullshit Merlin had pulled at the pub.

“How the hell did you even pull that off? Rats? Really?”

The blue-eyed young man shrugged with a smile “I've got _years_ of practice, mate. You have _no idea_ just what sort of nonsense I've managed to pull, in much less time, with no one questioning it.”

Dusty seemed to think that through before saying “Strangely enough, I believe you, Merlin.”

The blue-eyed man grinned at that as he continued to steer in the direction Dusty had indicated.

When they got within a certain distance of the Moby Dock, Merlin spotted another ship approaching it and cocked his head.

“Isn't that Red-Haired Shanks' ship?” the black-haired warlock asked.

Dusty nodded, looking thoughtful “Wonder what he's doing here. Whatever. It does mean no one will see us though, so we'll have to get up there ourselves.”

Merlin nodded and steered the boat to the other side of the ship, where after some contemplating, Merlin decided to use his magic to release the rope-ladder for the two of them to climb up. Dusty only blinked before commenting “Handy.” and taking the lead in climbing up to his family.

Merlin had shown off a little after a few days of sailing together, of course, he'd only told Dusty he could move things and the man assumed he was a Devil Fruit user. Merlin saw no need to correct him.

As they ascended the ladder, Merlin could pick up murmurs from the people aboard, when the two of them finally made it over the railing, they could see that Akagami's ship had come to a stop beside the larger ship.

“Stand back, youngsters, there's no way you'll survive this.”

Merlin eyed the man who'd said this, a blond man with a purple jacket and bare chest, proudly displaying his tattoo. This was Marco the Phoenix, probably the strongest Whitebeard Pirate in Merlin's opinion, if only due to his own knowledge of phoenixes. He'd had to deal with that damn eye, after all.

The Warlock and his new friend watched in silence as Whitebeard Pirates started to fall one by one as the red haired Captain boarded the ship and walked towards the giant man hooked up to various medical devices and IV's.

Dusty seemed to eye him for a moment before he asked “How the heck are you still standing?”

Merlin had an inkling as to what had happened, but “Honestly, I can't feel anything.”

Conqueror's Haki was a powerful tool, but Merlin, as Emrys, was pretty much immune. Besides, his mind was like a diamond. You had to know exactly how to cut it to be able to do any damage, otherwise he was stronger than anything aimed at him.

Dusty hummed, obviously impressed, but didn't push.

“Sorry about that, but you can never be too careful on an enemy ship.” Shanks spoke up, looking Whitebeard in the eye, with absolutely zero fear.

Merlin liked him already.

“Just looking at you, I can feel the wounds from that man throb.” was Whitebeard's answer and Merlin wondered if this was what it sounded like to outsiders when he conversed with those older than him who knew him as Emrys.

“I brought a peace offering in the form of “healing water”.” Merlin's mind flashed back to the Cauldron “I am here to talk only.”

“You are telling me this after knocking out half my crew with your creepy aura?” Whitebeard deadpanned, before laughing “Idiot!”

The First Division Commander decided to butt in then “Oy! Akagami! Why the hell did you decide to show your face here?”

“Oh, the 1st Division Commander, Marco. Why don't you join a real crew?”

“Shut the hell up, yoi!”

The big man beside the Commander spoke up next “Pops, what should we...?”

Whitebeard answered his son's question “Well, since he's just to talk, leave the two of us alone for a bit.”

“But-!”

“It's fine, besides, all of you have a brother to welcome back.”

That last statement caused a bit of confusion until Dusty decided to draw attention to himself “Hey guys!” he called from behind half of them, waving when everyone's eyes were turned towards him “I'm back!”

“Dusty!” most of the former Spade Pirates practically glomped him, well, those still awake, anyway, while the others smiled, right up until they heard a foreign voice from out of sight.

“Dusty, mate, where are the broom-closets on this ship?”

Dusty disentangled himself from his brothers, looking confused before he called out “You can't stuff my brothers into the closet, Merlin!”

Everyone paused at that, exchanging incredulous glances.

“I'm not! I'm looking for a mop!”

“You can't mop them up, either!”

Finally, the Whitebeards managed to put a face to the name and voice as a young man with a mop of black hair, blue eyes and frankly hilarious ears popped up from somewhere, wielding the mentioned mop and a bucket “What? Of course not, I'm just making a preemptive strike.”

Dusty looked as gobsmacked as the rest of them, though much more amused “Against _what_?”

“Whatever bloodshed that follows this brand of posturing!”

“Gurararara, I like your new friend, my son. But please leave us for the moment, introduce him to your brothers in the meanwhile.”

Dusty looked sheepish “Roger that, Oyaji.” he then eyed all of their fallen comrades, looking back to his friend “Hey Merlin, mind helping us move 'em?”

Everyone looked at Dusty as if he'd lost his mind. There was no way the slim man could lift any of their brothers and even Merlin himself looked dubious as he looked at all of their passed-out brothers as he put the mop and bucket away.

“All of them?”

“Don't be silly, I don't expect you to move all of them.”

Merlin nodded and before anyone could question either of them, the ravenette's eyes flashed gold and he lifted his hands, palms facing downward. Roughly half of the unconscious people rose into the air and started to move to the other side of the ship, away from the two Captains.

The Whitebeards looked at him with wide eyes before they scrambled to pick up the remainder and move them away from the inevitable discussion. Just who was this kid?

Merlin wiped his brow in relief rather than from any actual fatigue, but none present would know that. Truth was, he had never actually moved this many people at once unless he'd been throwing them back. He'd rarely moved people this way at all, his first response had always been to physically carry them, which was a good thing, what with magic being outlawed and all. After that... he'd never really thought about it or needed to do it. So he was relieved that he could do it and had not injured anyone while doing it. Looking at Dusty's brothers, he could tell they were both wary and curious. He wasn't offended, they had just experienced the hurt of betrayal. One did not recover easily from that.

Dusty clapped him on the back “That wasn't so hard, was it?” he grinned.

Merlin rolled his shoulders to remove the slight pain from the manly show of affection “Well, I've never actually moved _people_ for more than two seconds.” Merlin explained, moving his hands as if pantomiming moving a small box or something.

Dusty looked at him with surprise “What, really? Wait, why two seconds?”

Merlin sighed and ruffled the hair at the back of his head in minor frustration “Well, usually I just use my power to... y'know... _push people_ so that they can't attack me.” he then waved his arms in the taller man's face “In case you haven't noticed, I don't have much in the area of physical strength, so I have to incapacitate people rather that outright fight them.”

Dusty raised his hands in a sight for surrender “Ok, ok, I get it. Still, now you know you can do it.”

Marco was the next to speak up, clearing his throat “Who's your new friend, Dusty?”

Said pirate grinned and jerked his thumb in indication “This here is Merlin. He saved me from some Marines before hauling my unconscious ass to my boat and getting as far away as possible. We got along pretty well so I thought he'd make a good addition to the crew if Oyaji approves.”

To their credit, the surrounding pirates looked only mildly dubious at the idea and explanation. And yet, Merlin couldn't help the wistful “It would be nice to belong somewhere again...”

It really had been too long... Merlin longed for that sense of brotherhood, of camaraderie. He'd been alone for so long he wasn't quite sure what it was like being part of a family.

There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere, like a storm suddenly breaking out and for a moment, Merlin was reminded of the night he killed Nimueh.

“That Redhaired bastard! What's he doing to pops?” one of the Whitebeards, a former Spade, in fact, yelled.

“Just wait 'n see, he's not stupid enough to be so reckless!” was Marco's attempt at pacifying them.

Meanwhile, as Merlin looked up at the sky, he absently thought how strange it was to be on this side of the conflict. Usually when two superpowers clashed, he was one of them. It was actually quite refreshing.


	3. One day you will learn, one day you will understand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin becomes a Whitebeard.
> 
> Marineford starts.
> 
> And Merin wonders just what the hell is _actually_ going on.

Red-Haired Shanks soon left the Moby and Merlin could see the dissatisfaction on the man's face. He didn't know what they had spoken about, but he knew they had gotten nowhere. Damn stubborn royals, it seemed he'd never be rid of them.

With the other Yonko's departure, it was also time for something Merlin was dreading, just a little. Being introduced to Whitebeard. If the man didn't like him, there was no way he'd be staying. Dusty didn't seem to understand why he was nervous, but Merlin knew he'd never really gotten over his fear of being rejected. 

The giant of a man eyed him briefly, before huffing “Brat.”

Merlin nodded in acknowledgment “Sir.”

The man laughed “So, how did you come to be in the company of my son?”

The Warlock grinned sheepishly “We happened to be in the same pub when the barkeep decided to drug everyone's drink and call the Marines. I hadn't actually drunk, so I wasn't affected, which meant I had enough time to stuff Dusty in a cupboard and take the bartender's place, before I set the Marines on a wild goose-chase and dragged Dusty to his boat. Luckily I managed to do it swiftly enough that no one noticed anything until we were long gone.”

Dusty snorted “You shoulda heard him, Pops, he claimed I was a _rat_ when I accidentally made noise, and the Marines _believed_ him.”

Whitebeard chuckled “Gurarara, you're a sly one, aren't you?”

The raven-haired man shrugged modestly “I have my moments.” he said with a shy smile.

The Yonko hummed, staring at him with a twinkle in his eye. Something in Merlin relaxed knowing the man at least didn't disapprove of him.

“Become my son.”

Merlin actually blinked at the sudden request worded as a demand. And he was experienced enough to recognize it as that. He cocked his head and stared at the man, but ultimately didn't have to think about it too much.

“Alright. It'll be nice to have more than a day to know my father.”

His admission received mixed reactions but Merlin was more interested in the deep, knowing look he received from the World's Strongest Man. It was almost like looking at Gaius. If Gaius was a gigantic man with unimaginable power and a moustache, that is. The wisdom was the same, though, and that's all that mattered.

Merlin fit in remarkably well, all things considered. A week in and it was almost as if he'd always been there. No one questioned the wary respect the raven held for Marco, and only Marco, though none but the Warlock knew the true reason behind it. It had nothing to do with the man's status and everything to do with what a certain body part could do if misused. He'd have to make sure no one harvested anything while fighting the man. And boy, did that sound weird out of context.

Then came the news. The news of the execution of one Portgas D. Ace. Merlin could see no one expected him to fight. He'd been given the option of staying out of the conflict, along with the medical staff. They were all shocked when he said no. Which was how he ended up watching at the surrounding water as they traveled towards Marineford inside a bubble-coating.

Being underwater without actually having to do anything was mesmerizing. Merlin was amusing himself by studying the bubble coating, wondering if he could re-create the effect with his magic. He probably could, but he'd like to experiment before he tried it on an actual ship. What he noticed once he stopped studying the bubble were the Sea Kings. Their souls sang kin in a way nothing else had in a long time. He could feel them. The souls of _dragons_. He could tell they were curious, perhaps by his form, but he could tell they could sense his soul. He wondered if he could command them.

Looking at the others he could see they were nervous and confused by the Sea Kings' behaviour. The Warlock couldn't blame them, it wasn't like they could sense what he could. Whitebeard, on the other hand? He was looking straight at Merlin.

You didn't live as long as he had without picking up things, and he knew the man had realized the odd behaviour was connected to him.

Resurfacing was a slightly unpleasant experience, Merlin thought as he tried to pop his ears. He knew he wasn't the only one with the problem, but he was once again slightly envious of Marco's healing ability. Once he'd managed that, the Warlock looked ahead and came to the inevitable conclusion.

Ace looked... terrible, to say the least.

Suddenly Merlin was reminded of the many times he, or the knights, or Arthur, or any combination of the options, had been captured and/or thrown in the dungeons. Or _a_ dungeon. He shivered. Those were not the fondest memories, but they weren't all bad. Well, most of them. Some of them were very bad indeed.

He looked up when he felt a nudge to his shoulder and spoke softly to Dusty as Oyaji started his own intimidation “I'm fine, it's just... some bad memories. You wouldn't believe the trouble I used to get into.” he sighed, before pausing and elaborating “It was mostly Arthur's fault, though.”

The former Spade Pirate grinned before focusing on the exchange happening between Ace, Marco and Oyaji.

“He really doesn't get it, does he?” Merlin murmured, eyes misting over.

Dusty glanced at him “Get what?”

The Warlock didn't turn and instead kept his eyes on the Pirate on top of the execution platform “Just how much we're willing to do for him.”

Vista, who was standing not too far away from them, chuckled “Then perhaps it is prudent we show him just how much we care.”

Merlin smirked as the tsunami Whitebeard had set in motion came rolling in, crouching as he braced himself “Let's.”

Merlin had actually never battled on ice before. It was truly a novel experience. It also let him, thanks to his slim figure, slide under many people's legs and then attack. He'd never reveled in combat, not like the knights had, but even he had to admit that this was actually kind of fun. Mostly because of all the dumb-founded looks he kept receiving. Merlin had never been like the Knights, like Arthur. He was definitely out of place here amongst battle-happy pirates and Marines. Merlin didn't fight because he wanted to, he only fought when he needed to. He'd always been more non-confrontational, at least when it came to physical things, he was much more vocal about his opinions than people had been back then. He could see why his new family had been somewhat surprised that he'd even wanted to come. And perhaps, if he was a little less determined, he wouldn't have. But even though he didn't know Ace, he knew what the others thought of Ace. And that was someone he was willing to fight for.

However, his mind started to wander, a dangerous thing to happen during battle, but he could not help it. He couldn't believe how big of a deal the Marines were making out of the execution of one man, not even a Captain or a Yonko or anything. Sure, Ace was the 2nd Division Commander, but why was his execution made into such a spectacle?

“ _It's starting to become..._ ” Merlin absently dodged a swipe from a marine before shoving the man into his comrades, bowling all five over, “ _uncomfortably distracting._ ”

It just made no sense. What was he missing?


	4. The explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or, Merlin gets an inkling of what's _actually_ going on, even if he has no specifics yet.
> 
> Sengoku has no idea what his announcement about Luffy's parentage has unleashed upon his men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little short a little late, but it's something and something is always better than nothing.

The fighting paused briefly, Merlin noted, before he noticed exactly why. He had to admit, a Marine battleship falling from the sky was a perfectly understandable reason for everyone to become distracted. Noticing the trajectory, Merlin used his magic to nudge the ship so that it fell into the hole in the ice that Jozu had created.

There was a brief silence after the ship fell and Merlin was starting to worry that whoever had been onboard had died, but soon enough there was noise coming from it. Shaking his head the Warlock turned to engage in combat again when-

“LUFFY!!!”

“AAAACE! I FINALLY FOUND YOU!!!”

Merlin slowly turned back, both eyebrows raised.

What.

It took him a moment, but Merlin realized that this was that little brother of Ace's that some of the others had mentioned. Of course, while he was pondering this, there was some more yelling happening. It also seemed like Crocodile had tried his luck at attacking Whitebeard.

“I do not remember wars being this chatty.” the Warlock absently noted as he caused some more people to trip, slip and hit their heads so that they'd be out for the count while Ace's little brother and the old man were arguing. And apparently coming to some sort of agreement.

He still didn't really understand this One Piece and Pirate King malarkey but to each his own, he supposed.

Ace's reaction to his brother's presence was... heartbreaking, to be honest. Under all that anger, Merlin saw fear, fear he himself knew all too well. The fear of losing someone to conflict that is connected to yourself. The fear that someone will sacrifice themselves for you.

The fear of loss, in general.

Merlin was all too familiar with the feeling.

Then the tide of the war turned, though none but one knew at the time. Merlin came to an abrupt halt, his blood freezing once he registered just what The Fleet Admiral was letting out of his mouth.

“What are you doing allowing a rookie to beat you up! This man is another future dangerous element! Not only was he raised together with Ace, but he is also the son of Dragon The Revolutionary!”

_… future dangerous element..._   
_… son of Dragon The Revolutionary..._   
_… another..._   
**_...another future dangerous element...!_ **

Magic Incarnate lost his iron-grip on his powers, causing a huge shockwave all around him, pushing back everyone within ten feet of him. He regained his control soon enough, but the damage was done.

Merlin... was pissed. To put it lightly.

This execution... it had nothing to do with Ace's affiliations. Nothing to do with his rank. Nothing to do with _any actual crimes he had committed_. No. He was being executed... _for being born._

And Merlin would _not_ stand for that.

This was why, with little less than a thought, he stopped. He stopped reigning in his senses, he stopped controlling his aura and he stopped holding back quite as much as he had been previously.

He didn't care who saw, he refused to hide in face of _this_ particular brand of _fuckery._

His soul burned with dragon fire as he conjured up a light blue ball of light, one that had once guided someone else, and sent it to Luffy. The split in focus was barely noticeable and he left monitoring through the guiding light to his subconscious. It would react as he would and protect the child while he himself took care of things where he was.

He _could_ end the war now... but he also knew that growth came from experience and loss and he knew better than to hold people's hands. They needed to experience this battle, this facade.

They needed to see as Merlin did.


	5. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin verbally beats some sense into Squard before revealing some of his own past. Whitebeard gains some new understanding concerning his newest son.

It was only due to loosening the reins he had on his magic that he was able to move in time. The large blade in Squard's hands barely nicked Newgate's chest before the smaller man was blown away. Squard landed painfully on his shoulder, his sword scattering away from him.

“ _What the hell_ is _wrong_ with you?!”

A clear, mostly unknown voice rang out throughout the battle field, causing the fighting to pause momentarily, some continuing despite the unexpected happening. Marco landed beside his captain, eying the newbie who was standing over their brother.

Their brother, who had just tried to stab Oyaji.

Marco, too, wanted some answers.

Most had not seen what had happened, but Marco had. He was glad Merlin had pushed Squard out of sight, not letting this strange bout of treachery rattle the others. The fighting had started again when nothing else out of the ordinary immediately happened and Marco didn't really have to keep an eye on the Straw Hat brat with the strange orb of light following the kid around, protecting him from the more serious threats. Although, he _really_ wanted to know what the ball _was_ , but if the kid wasn't questioning it, then neither was he.

Squard spouted some nonsense about Oyaji trading all of their lives for the son of Roger, something Marco knew wasn't right. The Marines had _wanted_ war, Oyaji wasn't trading anything, there wasn't any other choice save for attacking Impel Down before Ace had been transported and it appeared Straw Hat had already tried that and failed... well, partly. The kid would probably have succeeded if he'd been able to get to his brother in time.

The First Division Commander did tense up in worry since it seemed like their newest brother had been unaware of the fact. Merlin had gone from tense to mostly slack and was shifting from one foot to the other, his head tilted. He wasn't even looking at Squard anymore. Instead of any negative reaction towards Ace, however, it seemed like the young man's ire was directed solely on the Captain of the Maelstrom Spider Pirates.

“You _stupid_ man. Are you truly so blinded by your hate towards a _dead man_ , that you would sentence every pirate here to death?”

The black-haired man didn't even raise his voice. And yet, Marco could _feel_ the fury behind the words, causing cold chills to run down his spine.

He had no idea his newest brother was capable of this kind of cold rage. He didn't want to be on the receiving end.

“The _World_ is watching us. And you would have them see us divided. You would kill the man almost everyone here views as their leader, their _father_. And for what? The information gained from your _enemies_. Who wants us dead? The Marines. Who stands to gain from chaos in our ranks? The Marines. Who would use your hatred for their own gain? The Marines. Who gave you this information? _The Marines_. And yet you can't see far enough past your nose to realize just what the hell you're doing!”

Finally, Merlin went above his soft tone, before calming himself down once more, Squard listening with clenched fists.

“If you _had_ , somehow, killed the man you _claim_ to have once seen as your father, what then? Were you going to take charge? Lead everyone out of here? How would you have made them listen to you? How would you protect the territories of the man you just killed? Were you even going to? You don't actually know, do you? Because, just like every other tantruming child in history, Squard, you don't actually know what you want. All you have is hatred for a man who died _22 years ago_. Instead of being rational about it, you've just let it fester and done _nothing_ to move on. Ace is 20 going on 21. You are hurting a _child_ for something a man _he has never met_ once did, whatever the _hell_ that was. Tell me, is it really worth it? Is acting out on _your_ pain worth the lives of all your brothers? Do you even _care_?”

None of the three pirates understood how, but somehow Merlin had disarmed Squard with words alone, if you didn't count the initial push that knocked him off his feet.

Squard was left weeping in regret on the deck as Merlin used his powers to chuck his blade out of sight, and more importantly, out of reach.

Marco took off once again when it became evident Merlin had everything under control, and wasn't that an odd thing to realize.

There was much to the man that met the eye, it would seem.

Newgate looked at his newest son as the boy left Squard to think about what he did and came to a stop at his side, not looking at him. Either to not wanting to see his reaction, or not needing to, the Yonko wasn't entirely sure. Still, he had done well. No one had seen the brief mutiny and the Marines' schemes had been thwarted for the moment.

“You have seen much pain, my son.” the old man rumbled, a knowing look in his eye.

The ravenette beside him finally looked up to meet his eyes and Newgate could see pain in those blue pools, before the child looked away, to the one they were fighting to save.

“Ace isn't the only one people would execute for being born to the wrong people.” Merlin said softly and the Yonko saw that his eyes were unfocused, seeing something that was not there “The King of the land I was born into would have burned me at the stake if he had known who my father was. He hadn't even _done_ anything to earn a kill on sight order, he just had a skill the King feared... and hated.” the boy closed his eyes “I didn't even know who he was until a week before I met him... and I knew him for but a day before he died right in front of me.”

Whitebeard stood there solemnly, knowing Squard could hear every word, but doubting that Merlin realized this fact.

“Even before then, I had been listening all my life to people saying how others with this talent were monsters, how they should be killed. I grew up thinking I was a monster. It took me perhaps a little too long to find people to tell me otherwise, and even then, it didn't help.”

The old man had suspected Merlin's past was heavy, but now he knew it was perhaps more similar to Ace's than he'd at first thought.

“I assume few if any knew of Ace's parentage before this, so... Ace didn't even have that. He's lived his entire life listening to horror stories and slander and I if anyone know what it's like to grow up thinking I'm not worth anything, that I don't deserve to live... but I am not my parents and I am not my powers. I am much more than that. And I think it's about time someone made Ace realize that too.”

With that, the slim man jumped down onto the battlefield and started to fight again, leaving Squard and Whitebeard alone on the Moby.

After a brief silence, Newgate spoke again “ _There_ is a man who has seen hell and come out at the other side. Not unscathed, but still functional. You'd do well to listen to the words of such a man, Squard, for he knows better than anyone what it is like to suffer and let go.”

Squard didn't answer, not that Whitebeard expected him to. And so the Yonko instead finally leapt into the fray, causing the Marines to cry out in panic.

It was time for him to make his own move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the BBC, we have twelve actors, three writers and ten props.


End file.
